Presentations by the electrical industry's largest distributors at last year's annual conference of the National Electrical Manufacturers' Representatives (NEMRA) will be a tough act to follow. But this year the NEMRA annual conference program will offer individual sessions by Affiliated-Distributors, IMARK, Equity Electrical Associates Inc. and EDN that are sure to spark a rousing discussion on rep-buying/marketing group relations.

At NEMRA's 2003 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., March 12-16, the presentations by the electrical industry's largest buying/marketing groups will cover the concerns independent manufacturers' reps have with marketing groups and offer ideas to improve their relations with the rep community.

Commenting on this year's forum, sponsored by the NEMRA Manufacturers Group (NMG), NEMRA President Henry Bergson said, “Key executives of the major electrical industry marketing groups will address the conference in individual sessions to review their model of going to market. These sessions will provide insight and information to manufacturers and NEMRA representatives about how they can influence product selection and purchasing decisions among the members of the groups.”

Rick Angel, senior vice president, Lutron Electronics, Coopersburg, Pa., and 2002-03 NMG chairman, said it's imperative that reps understand the business model of each of the marketing groups. “It's critical that they understand how each of them can best fit into the equation to develop and drive sales and provide the value-added selling effort that they are accustomed to providing. Reps will be able to identify how they can have the most impact in the marketplace for their manufacturers, key distributors and ultimately for the end-user customer.”